Insurance, Politics & Climate Change
Table of Contents
Chapter 1:
Introduction to Insurance, Politics & Climate Change |
1 |
Is Climate Change Real? |
2 |
Insurers See the Writing on
the Wall; People Just See the Wall |
2 |
Dude! This is About Weather! |
3 |
A Surprisingly Difficult
Topic Even for Insurers |
5 |
Time Matters |
6 |
A Complicated Insurance
Topic |
6 |
Insurers Look at Financial
Risks, Not Politics |
9 |
Facts are Verified; Insurance
Companies Weigh In |
10 |
Insurers Possess Knowledge |
11 |
Outcome
#1 & #2 |
12 |
A Constant Attempt to Muddy
the Information Waters |
13 |
Insurers Pick Up the Claims,
and Raise Premiums |
14 |
Insurers Assess Global
Change Risks |
15 |
Insurance Claim Tails |
17 |
NAIC Looks at Economic
Threats to Insurer Stability |
18 |
Chapter 2: Spilled
Milk |
21 |
From an Insurance
Perspective |
23 |
Flood Risk and the NFIP |
25 |
Other NFIP Issues |
26 |
H.R. 5381 |
28 |
Climate Change: A Financial
Issue for Insurers |
29 |
Violent Conflicts |
29 |
Climate Change or Simply Bad
Luck? |
30 |
A Difficult Concept for Some
People |
30 |
Change and the Unknown Can
be Frightening |
30 |
Lack of Understanding
Affects Acquired Knowledge |
31 |
Financial Gains Affects Climate
Change Statements |
31 |
Inability or Unwillingness
to Perform Personal Analysis |
32 |
Financial Gains Determine
Opinions |
33 |
Moving Forward |
33 |
Identifying the Skeptics |
34 |
How Can Insurers Meet the
Climate Challenge? |
35 |
Today’s Political Atmosphere
Molds the Actions of Insurers |
37 |
Insurers must deal with a
Political Climate |
41 |
Distributional Politics
Affect Insurance |
43 |
A Tough Situation for
Insurers |
43 |
Insurance Statistics |
45 |
Climate Mitigation Affects
Insurance Producers |
45 |
Canada |
47 |
Insurer Assessments of the
Future |
47 |
Believe the Insurers, Not
the Politicians |
49 |
Adding Billions of People
Make this Climate Change Different |
50 |
Photosynthesis: The Role
Plants and Trees Play |
53 |
Insuring
Volcanic ActivityInsuring Volcanic
Activity |
55 |
Hawaii,
Alaska |
57 |
Pacific
Coast, Wyoming and the Rockies, Volcanoes in General |
58 |
Unusual Events Can Affect
Insurance Policies |
59 |
Policy Exclusions |
60 |
Past Climate Change Before
Use of Fossil Fuels |
61 |
Asteroids |
64 |
Insurance & Government
Actions Related to Climate Change |
69 |
Chapter 3:
Climate Change Risk Management |
74 |
Insures Recognize the Risk |
74 |
Crop Loss Equates to
Insurance Payments |
76 |
Insurance Premiums Impact Food Pricing |
79 |
Government Insurance Programs Pay Out Higher Losses |
84 |
Insects, Weeds &
Diseases |
85 |
Livestock Insurance |
86 |
Agricultural Business Insurance |
87 |
General Liability Insurance |
88 |
Property Insurance |
89 |
ACV, RCV,
FRC |
89 |
Farm
Employee Insurance |
91 |
Over-the-Road
Vehicle Insurance |
92 |
Crop/Income
Insurance |
93 |
Other
Types of Insurance |
93 |
More
Heat, Drought & Precipitation to Come to Agriculture & Insurers |
94 |
Forests |
97 |
Bioenergy:
Plant-Based Material |
101 |
The
Future of Forests |
102 |
Chapter 4: Our Planet’s Future |
104 |
Water |
104 |
Like
Insurance, Ecosystems Buffer Severe Weather Events |
106 |
Plants
and Animals |
106 |
Seasonal
Patterns Eventually Equate into Insurance Losses |
109 |
Adaption
Required in Insurance as well as Species |
110 |
Health
Insurance |
112 |
Air
Pollution Increases Health Care Claims |
112 |
Allergens
Cause Health Care Issues |
113 |
Temperature
Extremes Affect the Life & Health Insurance Industry Too |
114 |
Weather
Events Cause-Related Deaths & Injuries (So More Claims) |
115 |
Even
Heavy Downpours Cause Health Issues |
116 |
Food
Security Affects Health, so it also Affects Insurance |
117 |
Mental
Health & Stress-related Disorders |
117 |
Vulnerable
Individuals Present the Highest Health Insurer Risk |
118 |
Defining
the Risks & How Insurers Respond |
120 |
Defining
Fossil Fuels & their Relationship to Insurer Risk |
121 |
Reinsurance
Companies Consider Global Warming Risks |
122 |
Insurers
Do Not Care Whether Climate Change is Human Caused |
123 |
Oil |
124 |
Coal |
125 |
Natural
Gas |
125 |
Environmental
Impairment Liability Insurance (EIL) |
127 |
Earthquake Claims That Appear to be Caused by Fracking |
127 |
Energy
Alternatives |
133 |
Insurers
and Others Consider Solutions |
133 |
Options
Exist |
134 |
Insurance
Solutions to Global Warming |
136 |
Global
Warming and Wildlife & Livestock |
138 |
Estimating
Future Claims Experience |
140 |
Civil
Litigation Equates to Liability Claims |
142 |
Measurable
Risks Are Required by Insurers |
143 |
Micro
Insurance |
144 |
Reducing
Insurance Loss Risks Associated with Climate Change |
148 |
Catastrophe
Reserve Funds |
149 |
Risk
Pools |
149 |
Insurance-Linked
Securities |
149 |
Insurers
have been Aware of Climate Change for Years |
149 |
Insurer
Incentives to Reduce Use of Fossil Fuels |
149 |
New
Pipelines |
150 |
Many
Confusing Opinions & Offered Solutions |
150 |
The
Nicholas Stern 2006 Review |
154 |
Insurers
Understand the Effects of Automobile Emissions |
155 |
How People
Live Has Always Changed Over Time (Insurance Needs Change too) |
160 |
Winners
& Losers in Climate Change Issues, Including Insurance Availability |
163 |
Why
People Must Believe the Insurers |
164 |
Chapter
5: Climate Change Affects Insurance Companies & Policyholders |
168 |
The
Lawsuits Continue to Rise in Numbers |
168 |
Examples
of Severe Weather Events in 2021 |
169 |
It Is Still Just Weather!? |
171 |
Fact #1-#5 |
171 |
Fact #6-#12 |
172 |
Federal
Policies on Climate Change Between 2017and 2020 |
173 |
An
Ever-Growing Wave of Lawsuits Helps the Insurance Industry |
175 |
Will
Litigation be the Savior of the Insurance Industry? |
178 |
Wind Insurance in Wind Pool Areas |
180 |
What Defines a Windstorm? |
180 |
Windstorm Insurance Deductibles in Florida |
181 |
Insurer
Risk-Knowledge & Management |
182 |
Assessing
Risk & Avoiding Losses |
187 |
Life
& Health Insurance Will be Affected |
193 |
Changing Landscape Affects Health Issues & Health Insurance |
194 |
Chapter
6: Insurers Have Limited Abilities |
196 |
Persuasion
Through Premium Rates |
196 |
Insurance penetration rates |
198 |
Department
of Commerce Estimations |
205 |
NFIP: What
is the Message for Taxpayers? |
207 |
National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) |
210 |
1.
Premium Increases & Surcharges |
210 |
Pre-FIRM Subsidized Policies |
211 |
Other Subsidized Policies |
211 |
V Zones |
212 |
A Zones |
212 |
X Zones |
212 |
Miscellaneous |
212 |
Changes to Become Effective 1/1/19 |
212 |
2.
Policy Reformation for Use of Incorrect Standard Flood Ins
Policy Form |
213 |
3.
Premium Receipt Date for Guidance for Invalid Payments |
213 |
4.
Primary Residence Determination |
213 |
5.
Clarification of Increased Cost of Compliance Premium |
214 |
6.
HFIAA Section 28, Clean Communication of Risk – Phase 2 Re-underwriting |
214 |
7.
Datum Conversion |
214 |
8.
Updated Claims Data Elements |
215 |
NFIP
Risk Rating 2.0 |
215 |
What
is not Changing |
216 |
Premium
Rates under Risk Rating 2.0 |
217 |
Phase
I and Phase II |
218 |
General
Property Form / Standard Flood Insurance Policy |
220 |
Europe
Ahead of America in the Reality Category |
248 |
Litigation
Risk Due to Both Actions & Inactions Related to Climate Change |
250 |
Physical
Risks |
254 |
Transition
Risks |
254 |
Liability
Risks |
254 |
Driving
Factors |
254 |
Insurer
Risk is Increasing |
256 |
Insurance
Categories |
257 |
Business
Interruption Insurance and Resulting Claims |
258 |
Food
Safety & Insurance |
258 |
Global
Security Also Impacted |
259 |
General
Insurance & Liability Affected |
259 |
It
is All in the Math |
260 |
Insurance
Company Wake-Up Calls |
260 |
Insurers
Invest Too |
261 |
Dealing
with Transition Risks |
261 |
Liability
Risks |
262 |
Professional
Indemnity |
265 |
Making
Assessments |
266 |
As
Always, Opinions Vary |
267 |
Tipping
Events |
271 |
International
Collaborations & Finance: Premium Rise as Claims Rise |
271 |
Developing
New Insurance Products |
272 |
Insurance
Impacts from Global Warming |
273 |
Life Insurance |
273 |
Health Insurance |
273 |
Insurers
Recognized It First (Along with Scientists of course) |
278 |
Concepts
of Insurability |
279 |
Chapter
7: The Ethics of Climate Change |
282 |
Climate
Change: An Ethical Issue |
282 |
The
Poorest of the Poor |
283 |
Predicting
& Coping |
285 |
New
Technology & the Hope that it Will Heal |
285 |
Power |
287 |
Transport Technology |
287 |
Funding
from an Ethical Obligation |
287 |
What’s
in a Name? |
289 |
Three primary issues that relate to climate change |
289 |
IPPC report identified the ethical considerations |
295 |
Climate
Change: A Moral Issue |
301 |
Aerosol Pollution |
303 |
In insurance Uncertainty is a technical term. |
307 |
Adaption where possible |
309 |
Change
Starts at the Top |
312 |
Giving
the Subject Legitimacy |
312 |
Making
Global Warming Personally Relevant |
313 |
Making
Ethical Choices for our World |
313 |
Regulatory
& Political Risks |
314 |
From
a Practical Standpoint |
319 |
Choosing
Ethical Conduct |
320 |
Ethics
Beyond Philosophers |
321 |
Being
Ethically Responsible is Hard Work |
322 |
Responsibility
to Others |
323 |
A
Legal Liability |
325 |
Free
Choice |
327 |
Egoism |
329 |
Objectivist
Theory |
330 |
Example # 1 & #2 |
330 |
Ethical
Conduct Varies |
331 |
Moral
Persuasion |
332 |
Rationalizing
Morals |
333 |
United Insurance Educators, Inc.
(253) 846-1155